Eminem and Elton John are in in the latest issue of Interview magazine. The publication’s latest celebrity-on-celebrity conversation finds Eminem chatting with Elton about his upcoming album Revival (out Dec. 15), his nine-year sobriety, and which rappers he’s currently listening to (spoiler alert: Cole, Kendrick, Travi$, Joyner Lucas, Royce Da 5’9″ and Tech N9ne).
Eminem also touches on his viral freestyle “The Storm,” which was originally supposed to be a live performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, and elaborated on his feelings towards Donald Trump. “As long as he’s got his base, he does not give a fuck about anybody else in America,” Em says. “But guess what? There’s more of us than there are of them.”
Check out the best quotes below and click here to read the full interview.
On new album Revival:
I’ve been working on it for over a year. You know how it is—you make songs, and as you make the new ones, the old ones get old and you throw them out. The album is called Revival. It’s a reflection of where I’m at right now, but also I feel like what I tried to do was diversify. I’ve tried to make a little something for everyone.
On current hip-hop:
JOHN: Do you listen to a lot of current hip-hop?
EMINEM: I listen to pretty much everything that comes out.
JOHN: Who do you think is doing great stuff at the moment?
EMINEM: J. Cole. Travis Scott. Kendrick is great. My friend Royce da 5’9″ is incredible. Joyner Lucas is really good. Tech N9ne, too.
On “The Storm” freestyle:
The original idea was for me to go to the BET Awards and do it acapella onstage. I went home that same day and wrote it all, but then at the last minute, plans got switched around and we filmed it in Detroit.
One of the things we were trying to mimic was Public Enemy’s “You’re Gonna Get Yours” cover. I don’t know if anybody got that, but that’s kind of the feel that we were going for. My main concern was trying to get the message out and also memorize all the words. I have a hard time memorizing stuff. I’m always in the process of writing a new song, so trying to learn a new one takes a minute.
On Donald Trump:
It was about having the right to stand up to oppression. I mean, that’s exactly what the people in the military and the people who have given their lives for this country have fought for—for everybody to have a voice and to protest injustices and speak out against shit that’s wrong. We’re not trying to disrespect the military, we’re not trying to disrespect the flag, we’re not trying to disrespect our country. But shit is going on that we want to make you aware of. We have a president who does not care about everybody in our country; he is not the president for all of us, he is the president for some of us. He knows what he’s doing.
As long as he’s got his base, he does not give a fuck about anybody else in America. But guess what? There’s more of us than there are of them. I still feel like America is the greatest country to live in. This is my opinion. But we have issues that we need to work on and we need to do better.
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